The present inventors and/or their colleagues have previously developed flow reactors for performing chemical reactions. These flow reactors may typically employ fluidic modules that may take the form of a multilayer glass structure. A representation of one embodiment of such a fluidic module 20 is shown in FIG. 1 in perspective view. In FIGS. 2 and 3 in cross sectional views are shown representations of certain features of additional embodiments of such fluidic modules 20. Fluidic modules 20 of the type(s) shown in FIGS. 1-3 in general has a planar form and first and second major surfaces 22, 24 (with surface 24 underneath the module 20 in the perspective view of FIG. 1). Reactants or process fluids circulate inside “microchannels”, channels of generally millimeter or sub-millimeter scale defined within a generally planar process fluid layer 30. The module 20 further includes two outer planar thermal control fluid layers 40 for containing flowing thermal control fluid, with the process fluid layer 30 positioned between the two thermal control fluid layers 40.
Inlet and outlet process fluid ports 32 allow supplying and removing process fluid (one of the ports 32, the outlet port in this case, is not visible in FIG. 1 because it is on the downward facing major surface 24, opposite the upward facing port 32). Inlet and outlet thermal fluid ports 42 allow supplying and removing thermal control fluid. All of the inlet and outlet ports 32, 42 are located on one of the first and second major surfaces at one or more edges thereof (at edge 26 in the case of the embodiment of FIG. 1), leaving a free surface area 22F (and corresponding free surface area 24F, underneath and not visible in FIG. 1) free of inlet and outlet ports.
Scale-up from lab scale to production scale processes is enabled by a range of various sizes of fluidic modules 20. To provide adequate residence time, for a given required flow rate, a certain amount of internal volume is required. Increased total internal volume, when needed, is provided by connecting several fluidic modules 20 in series to form a reactor. A reactor is therefore typically composed of several fluidic modules 20. Each fluidic module 20 can have specific function, like preheating, premixing, mixing, providing residence time, quenching, and so forth. Given that the modules 20 may be formed of glass, photochemistry is a potentially useful application, since glass is at least partially transparent to wavelengths of interest for photochemistry in the UV and visible spectra.